Mailing tube



H. E. STOUT Sept, 2, 1930.

MAILING TUBE Filed April 7, 1928 HAROLD E. 5730f lNVENTOR ATTORNEY v Patented Sept. 2,

, -MAiIlINGi TUBE Application filed Apri l 7', 1 92s. Sel -m. asaaio,

This invention relates to mailing tubes. An ob ect of the ln-ve'ntion 1s the provision of a mailing tube having a stiffened endportion. i i i 5v Another object is the provision of a mail-,

ing tube ha-vingmeansfor retaining papers within the tube. 1 p

7 Mailing tubes of the type now known-to the art have a tendency to be weakat the ends 10 and in order to overcome thisweaknes's various means have been used, for example, strips around the endsof thevtube inorder to'pre} vent the endsfrom injury during use. Mail ing tubes made in this mannerfar'e' somwhat'; more rugged than an ordinary mailing tube, but still have the disadvantage; of not-hold: ing the papers enclosed therein againstlongi- -p c 1- a .-jj v Theabo-vementionedlarrdother.objects and advantages and. themanner of attainingthemfjfq i tudinal displacement.

' IAccording to my invention, T-stiifenithe" ends of a mailingtube' and at the same time provide means for preventing paperswithin' the tube from sliding out,.by turning in the 5 end portions of the tube. The turningin of the end portions of the tube provides a.

stiffening Support for the ends of the tube and at the same time turns the'raw edge in leaving a smooth rounded surface onthe out- 7 side, which not only adds to the appearance 80 of the tube, but also adds to its utility. The

inwardly'turned portion or ridge acts as 'a stop for preventing papers on the inslde of the tube from-sliding out and also as a guid ing means for facilitating loadingof the tube.

WVhen papers are'being thrust intothe tube, the rounded end portion acts as a guide and at the same time reduces the friction between the rolled papers and the tube; This feature 1 Y is most apparent when a heavy roll of papers 40 are to be placed in a relatively small tube. A roll of papers positioned in th'e' 'tube have a tendency to uncurl and thus assume alarg er diameter, and in doingso make themselves.

largeenough so that it is impossible for them to slip out past'the ridge. Thisfeatureof the invention eliminates the need of end closures for mailing tubes and thus greatly adds to theireffectiveness.

I find that the ends of a 7 tube can readily be curled or turned inwardly by a spinning proc ess,this' being carried out bymeans o fz, a diehaving a rounded groove into which the endof atube-lnay be pressedand' thetub'e. i rotated. I find that iffaplurality; of. holes are p'lac'edin, the bottom-of thegroove inthe .55

die. thatthe curling operation is vfacilitated.

The; holes aid. in.- directing the end walls of the tubeiinw-ardly' so that less force need be used in thrusting the endof the tube against- 1 the dierin the spinning'operation; This re duction in pressure ,reduces the Wear on the of paper or similar materialhave been: pasted fend: ofthe tube a. d preventsburning-there fofduetofriction; v

ut. I

will be; made clear in the=followi11g descrip-;; tionta'keniin connection with the accompany-f ing drawinglsqr g e 7 In the ,drawing, Fig; 1' shows a v e rtzical Withmy-invention, T Fig. 2} is an endview ofthe tube-shown,

in Fig; 1:

' Fig.l3 il lustrates in vertical section, the end. i

of a tube positioned in the die during the 80,

curling process.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, reference numeral 1 indicates a mailing tube having inwardlyturned end portions 2.

.Asillustrated in Fig. 3, the end of the tube i l is thrust into an aperture 3 in a die 4, I I sald aperture having a rounded outer edge 5 p and'terminating at-its Inner end'in an annu in shaping groove 6, the groove 6 being pro v vided with a plurality of spac-ed holes 7 in the bottom thereof.

" The curling of the end of the tube ac complished by. thrusting the tube against the die as indicated by .thearrow in Fig. 3, and

at the same time rotating the tube with re 'specttothe die. As the tube is forced against the die and rotated, the end ofthe tube is caused by the groove 6 to turn inwardly in reentrant fashion. This inward turning is aidedby the holes 7 which, due to the pres- 10a section-of a tube constructed .in aceordance 75,-

2 q f i 1,774,851

' sure forcing the tube against the die act upon 7 individual portions of the end of the tube wall, which are. forced intozthe holes, thus turning these portions inwardly progressively. The groove in the die may advantageously have four holes but a greater or lesser number may beused as desired Likei a wise, the dieican be used without the holes 7, but greater pressure between the tube and 10 the dielis necessary and this greater, pres sure may cause burning ofthe end of the tube during the'curling operation.v p In order to insure that the tube Will not be injured by contact with the edges of the holes 7 ,these edges are made rounded as in dicated at 8. I

I have shown a tube duringthe process of having one end turned in but it will be understoodjthat if desired to speed up the 207 curling operation b'othends of the tubemight be operated on at once. Either the tube or 1 Y the die-may be rotated, it makes no difference as long asthere is relative rotation betweenthe two. v a I i While I have,;for the purpose of illustrati'on, disclosed a particular embodiment of myinventiomit will be understood that the 7 various embodiments and modifications such as would occur to one skilled in the art, may sobe made withouta departure from the spirit ofthe invention as set forth in the appended .c1aim.- J'H VVhat I claim is: r A mailing tube having the ends thereof turned over so that the cross-section of the wall at the end of the tube is in theform of a semi'circle to form a stiifening rib and to I serve 'asa gripping edge for the :tube' contents." I I I f I k '40 In'test'in ony whereof, I have signed my name to this specificationthis 24th day of r March, 1928.

r HAROLD STOUT. 

